Four Aces

#9: The Upperhand, Part 1

X X X

Bringing up the rear of the battle-weary and ambushed cyborgs, Jet afforded himself a moment to look over the warehouse from their vantage point. The upper level of the warehouse was largely made of narrow steel walkways and the office space they had just occupied - with large gaps between the walkways, he could easily see the warehouse floor.

Or at least, he could see what wasn't consumed by fire or covered by smoke. The explosion had turned into a series of fires, fueled by the chemicals, old tires, and inflammable containers that had been left behind when the Terminus was abandoned. Thick columns of black smoke were quickly turning the upper level into a haze of narrow walkways, some of which Jet was willing to bet had been torn up by the explosion.

Aware that his comrades were heading for the nearest staircase to escape the smoke, Jet had one hand on the railing. Muscles tensing, he vaulted over the railing the same way that Francoise and Albert had disembarked from their ferry - but where they met water, he found air. Freefalling for a meter or two, his boosters flared to life and halted the fall - aware that his fuel reserves were low and that this needed to be a fast fight, Jet twisted through the air as he flew across the warehouse floor, seeking the enemy. He didn't hold back - he loved flying.

Cutting across the warehouse to where the source of the explosion appeared to be, the smirk on Jet's face quickly thinned to a far more grim expression. He could see two Cyborgs - red and black and white, both were visibly armed as they ... faced off against each other? What?

"Ah!"

Jet became aware of several things within a split-second: he was the one who yelled. He was off-course. Someone had shot him.

Careening off to one side the Cyborg tumbled into an ugly landing where experience was the only thing that kept him on his feet. His side stung fiercely, which meant that it was a Cyborg weapon - which meant an Assassin.

With a scowl Jet pulled himself up straight, shoving the injury to the back of his mind and manually dimming his pain sensors a little more as he turned to find the attacker, own gun in hand. He was not disappointed, the smoke unable to hide a narrow red-and-white figure easily identifiable as Diamonds.

It was then that he became aware of a small missile heading this way, and rapid internal calculations told him it came from Albert. Sure enough, the elder Cyborg was on one knee, the other cracked open to launch the missile. Jet could see that Francoise stood to his left, a hand on the man's shoulder as her radar helped identify the targets he needed to hit.

Certain of the man's aim and Francoise's skill but unwilling to take chances, Jet propelled himself backwards, a hand to his side as he grimaced from the pain it caused his injury.

Diamonds caught on at the same time that Jet did, and with an inaudible snarl, dismissed the redhead in favour of taking out Albert. Watching the Assassin shift trajectory, Jet swore and moved forwards to go after him – mid-step, something bounced off the side of his foot. He glanced down, and saw that it was a grenade, a red heart painted on the side.

What was it about these crazy damn assassins?

Teeth gritted, Jet aimed his best kick at it without hesitation, catapulting the small device back into the air, where it narrowly crossed paths with the missile.

Oh shit, the missile.

Diamonds had moved swiftly enough to confuse the sensors - now Jet was the new target. He swore and threw himself into Acceleration, sprung into the air, and with a neat somersault to keep him on track, bulls-eyed the missile with his pistol.

It disintegrated in the slow motion typical of what he experienced in Acceleration mode, throwing debris in all directions and scorching the concrete beneath the explosion. Jet calculated his landing and returned to normal speed as his feet hit the ground, immediately struck by the shockwave of the missile detonating. Fortunately, his crouched landing allowed a lower center of gravity and this time, he stayed on his feet far more easily.

The explosion was followed by a second, smaller one from behind - glancing over his shoulder in that direction, Jet realised that it was the grenade he'd kicked. Hearts was definitely here - but had she meant to target him? Maybe it had gone wayward.

It didn't matter - a grenade wasn't going to be his exit from this life.

For the second time Jet moved to stand, feeling the skin and muscle at his side tear with the motion. His system strained to keep the pain back, out of the way where it wouldn't affect his performance.

Sometimes, being a Black Ghost creation had benefits.

Deciding he needed to finish what Diamonds started, Jet turned towards Albert and Francoise. Albert was no longer kneeling, shoulder to shoulder with Francoise as they both fired at Diamonds. The Assassin had his back to Jet, but Jet could imagine the evil smirk the cyborg would be wearing. Wiping it off his face was going to be fun.

Picking up a run, long legs ate up the ground easily, scarf streaming out like a banner behind him. Jet propped a metre away from Diamonds - thusfar unaffected by Albert's and Francoise's assault - lifted his pistol and aimed for the back of the cyborg's head.

Click.

It wasn't a sound so much as a feeling. His skin prickled and a ball of lead dropped into his stomach as he looked beyond Diamonds for the source.

Behind Francoise and Albert stood the unmistakeable Assassin of Spades.

From the look on his comrade's faces, Spades had a gun to both of them. Jet stared openly, but the cyborg's attention wasn't on him - it was on Diamonds. His black eyes gleamed as he smirked openly, and although it was arrogant, it lacked the elaborate smugness typical of Black Ghost scum.

"Spades! If you take my kill -"

"You move too slow," he tossed to Diamonds, obviously uncaring that it interrupted the tirade.

The redhead snarled and lunged forward in fury - Jet was aware of another click, and the three of them were gone.

X X X

On the far side of the warehouse, Pyunma and Chang were not faring that much better. They'd made it to the ground floor in one piece and after Albert stopped yelling at Jet to come back, agreed that a split was the best tactic. Everyone had functioning comlinks, regrouping would be hazardous, but not impossible.

The fires triggered by Hearts were approaching full strength, crackling and popping as they consumed every bit of junk or debris on the warehouse floor. What they needed was a way out, back to the trapdoor, back to the Dolphin, and such had become the task for Cyborgs 008 and 006.

Pyunma couldn't genuinely say that Chang was the best companion for such a job, but it would do because it had to. He led the way across the floor, laser pistol in one hand, keeping low and staying behind whatever hid him and Chang from the immediate line of sight.

"See that jeep?" Pyunma asked, nodding to a distant point. Chang looked to it and nodded, sweat dotting his forehead. Ahead, the jeep in question was on its side, the front end mangled and burnt, the axle hanging precariously short of falling off completely. A littering of glass and metal around it suggested to Pyunma that the vehicle had landed there courtesy of an explosion. He'd seen it often, at home.

"Good. The other side of that jeep is our access point."

Chang studied it for a moment, the anxiety obvious on his face. "I hate this part," he said mournfully.

Pyunma grinned, clapping his shoulder. "You can do it, just follow me," he told the stout man, and shifted in preparation to make the dash.

At Chang's confirmation, Pyunma burst into a run, keeping himself in a crouch as he left the protection of their previous cover. Silently counting his steps, he could hear Chang's heavy breathing which meant the man was right behind him, although beginning to flag. Pyunma wasn't surprised - it had little to do with fitness, and everything to do with the fact that flame-throwers were heavy, and Chang had one built into him. Running was simply not a strong suit.

Exactly sixty-three paces from their departure point, the relatively safe cover of the jeep swallowed them up. Pyunma dropped his back against the grimy underside with a grunt, breathing lightly from the exercise. Breathing more heavily Chang copied the action, beady little eyes scanning for what might be the next cover they'd head for.

Pyunma let him be, shifting to peer around the jeep carefully. There was no-one in sight, though scattered bits of wreckage could easily hide a foe. A stone's throw away lay the trapdoor - they were exactly where he intended for them to be. He returned to the safety of the jeep, somewhat satisfied. The trick now was to get everyone else here. He touched two fingers to his ear. "Exit identified," he broadcast, keeping his message short and concise in the event of eavesdroppers.

Pyunma didn't have to wait more than a moment before someone responded, preceded by the slight crackle of the line opening. "Get out," came the order, a panicked edge to them.

"002?"

"Take whoever's with you, and get out," Jet repeated, "We're outnumbered."

Pyunma ran a rapid count in his head - himself, 006, 002, 003 and 004... There were four assassins, how were they outnumbered?

And since when did 002, of all of them, back down from a fight like this?

He opened his mouth to relay these things, but hesitated.

Click.

Like Jet before him, Pyunma felt, rather than heard it. He frowned, scanning the immediate vicinity for the source but coming up with nothing. He shifted to look around the jeep again - spotting the source, he recoiled as swiftly as he could. That was Spades, and - and he had captives.

Chang shot him a quizzical look and Pyunma motioned for silence, willing to cover the man's mouth if that's what it took. Fortunately, Chang took the hint and stilled.

Pyunma counted to five then, with the utmost care, he edged further along, and watched the cyborgs at the trapdoor carefully.

X X X

Disengaging Acceleration mode, Spades came to a stop at precisely where he wanted to be - the little trap door he'd been told about. With a solid grip on both Albert and Francoise he moved forward, using a foot to hook the latch and pull the metal cover aside. The dark square yawned at them, and Spades felt the need to pray this wasn't as stupid as it felt.

"Get in the hole," he told them, thrusting Francoise forward first. She stumbled in her haste to avoid the opening, side-stepping it until she was safely out of the way.

Albert, on the other hand, chose that moment to try and twist out of his grip. Spades growled and used both hands to seize the man, expertly pinning an arm behind him, laser pistol going to the back of the man's neck. Albert grunted in annoyance, but not in pain.

"Get in the hole," Spades snarled at Francoise, who gave it a bewildered glance before looking back to the two men.

"You're only going to try and kill us," she challenged, "Why should I make it easy for you?"

"It already is easy," he told her crudely, "Get in the hole, or I drop you in there unconscious."

"No! You killed the others, I'm not going to do what you say, just so that you can execute us -" Francoise stopped midsentence, eyes widening. After a moment, she shook her head lightly and refocused her attention on the assassin. "Is it true?" she asked, looking anew to the escape route.

He snorted. "You're naive. Would my answer make a difference? Do it."

Francoise bit her lip, a hand clasped in the middle of her chest as she turned towards the opening. Albert renewed his struggle and an irritated Spades jammed the muzzle of his pistol against the cyborg's skull in warning. "Stop moving before I do it for you."

Albert growled, teeth bare as he clenched his jaw. "Don't do it," he warned Francoise, "Whatever he's got planned, freedom is better."

His words seemed to fall on deaf ears - without looking to him, Francoise stepped onto the ladder carefully, the metal warm to the touch from absorbing the heat of the surrounding concrete. She climbed a few rungs and hesitated. Spades waited with bare minimum patience and was rewarded - she kept climbing.

"No! Damnit, don't do what he says -"

When she was out of sight, Spades let go of the second cyborg, giving him a good shove as he did so. Albert didn't stumble like Francoise, but he did swear loudly. Catching himself, the Cyborg headed straight for the trapdoor entrance, peering into the black hole. "003? 003!"

"Knock it off," Spades scorned. "The only way you'll see her is by going down there too - and while you're at it, do me a favour and stay down there."

Albert reached for his rarely used laser pistol, but Spades was faster, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat. "You are not," the assassin said in a deadly tone, "In control of the situation. You are going to get into that hole and climb all the way down the ladder to the ground. You give me any more shit for this job, cyborg, I will kill you."

X X X

To be continued.